Rabid Cat Helped By Good Samaritan, Animal Services Seeks Info

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — A cat has tested positive for rabies, and officials are trying to track down the good Samaritan who dropped her off to Westview Animal Hospital this week. Health officials said that contact with a rabid animal may result in death.

The cat was brought into the hospital on Johnnycake Road around 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, according to Baltimore County Animal Services.

The man who brought her in was described as 35 to 40 years old with curly brown hair.

Baltimore County Animal Services is asking anyone who may have had contact with the cat to call its office at 410-832-7182.

Contact includes licks, bites or scratches, and officials say they are most concerned with the period from Thursday, Oct. 11, to Friday, Oct. 25.

Rabies is a viral disease most commonly transmitted through a bite from an infected animal.

Animals with rabies may act normally during the early stages of the disease. As it progresses, wild animals may act docile/sociable and domestic animals may become aggressive.

Once rabies takes hold, animals may stagger, drool or become paralyzed.

As of Oct. 20, the Maryland Department of Health reported that 229 animals have tested positive for rabies this year. Of those, 144 were raccoons, 25 were bats, 21 were foxes and 20 were cats. There were also eight skunks, four groundhogs, two dogs and two cows and three animals categorized as "other" that were rabid, health officials said.

Annually, approximately 900 Marylanders receive preventive treatment after exposure to a rabid or potentially rabid animal. When a person is exposed to the saliva of a rabid animal, a 14-day series of vaccines and a dose of rabies immunoglobulin given at the beginning of the series.

To prevent exposure to rabies:

• Vaccinate dogs, cats, ferrets, horses, sheep and cattle.
• Control pets at all times.
• Do not feed, try to rescue or relocate wildlife.
• Avoid animals that are sick or acting unusual.
• Secure garbage cans and do not leave pet food outside.
• Keep bats from entering your home.

Photo of cat courtesy of Baltimore County Animal Services.